Читать книгу Cotter On Investing - John Cotter - Страница 5

I have worked in the investment business for nearly 40 years and even now, after all this time, I often do not understand many of the investment reports and papers that are put in front of me written by experts. I am not questioning their knowledge or expertise, just their ability to communicate it in terms the average person can understand.

I was determined therefore to write a book on investing in shares that didn’t confuse the average layman with technical jargon. A book that spoke about stock market investment the way I believe it is – a relatively straightforward subject that is best kept simple.

To make sure I pass my own simplicity test, when I use a phrase or word that I think the average person may not fully understand, I have included a simple explanation of it in a glossary at the end of the book.

This book, therefore, is written for people who want to make their own investment decisions in the stock market – a group of people we’ll call self-directed investors.

The stock market of course can be a dangerous place and the risk involved can put people off the whole idea of investing in shares. It shouldn’t. Successful investors are those who manage risk, not avoid it altogether. After all, a life without risk is a life without reward!

This book is not designed to be a comprehensive introduction to the topic of investing in shares. There are other books that do that already. Rather, I focus on a few key topics that I’ve found investors are most interested in.

I give my own opinions, not only on some of the different investment vehicles you can use, but also on the ways in which you can improve your performance as a self-directed investor, by using different selection and timing techniques. For me to promote an idea in this context it has to pass what I refer to as the 3 Box Test: it has to be simple, it has to make sense and it has to work most of the time. If such an idea in my opinion ticks all three of these boxes, I have used it in this book. If it doesn’t, I haven’t.

If you do decide to take control of your own share portfolio I think you will find it not only financially beneficial, but also an enjoyable learning experience.

Good luck with your investing!